# How Cold is Too Cold?



## Habano (Jul 5, 2010)

So over the weekend I did my monthly inspection of humidors, coolers, wine cooler, and humidification devices. My "aging" cooler is kept in the basement in a closet where it's cooler during the year. The RH was spot on 60%, however the temperature inside the cooler was 55 degrees. Just a tad cooler than I usually keep it, which is usually around the 58-61 degree mark.

My question is, how cold is too cold for cigars to be stored? All the cigars are kept in boxes, so the temperature inside the boxes may actually be a bit warmer. Once January and February rolls around, I will need to keep an eye on the temps as I don't want them to fall much lower. Is 55 degrees the lowest point? Or should I pull the cooler out and let it "warm up" a little to bring the temps back to the 60 degree range?


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## CeeGar (Feb 19, 2007)

David, I found this from an old CA posting (courtesy of J. Suckling). A couple differing opinions but could be useful info.

Cellaring Cigars
Posted: Apr 30, 2007 10:42am ET
I saw this this morning over my coffee, and I thought I better chime in. The parameters for aging cigars is always slightly subjective, but I prefer to have mine a little dry. That’s how it’s always been done in England, and the British are the specialists in aging smokes.

I prefer to keep my cigars around 65 percent humidity and 65 degrees. The latter is important to keep cool because warmer temperatures run the risk of allowing beetles to hatch and munch your sticks!

Anyway, here is a posting from Wine Spectator’s site on storing cigars in wine cellars. It’s from the Dr. Vinny section, which is a Q&A feature on the web.

April 27, 2007:

Dear Dr. Vinny,

I would like to start storing and presenting cigars openly in my wine cellar. Will it hurt my wine to store the cigars in the cellar side by side?

—Chris

Dear Chris,

It won’t hurt your wine, but it might hurt your cigars. I checked with Gordon Mott, executive editor of Cigar Aficionado, and he says that the ideal condition for cigar storage is a 70 degree temperature at 70 percent humidity, which roughly matches the growing conditions of the tobacco.

However, the ideal storage for wine is 55 degrees at about 70 percent humidity. This means that wine cellar temperature is generally too cool to store cigars. Why would that matter? Well, for one, humidity is also relative to temperature. I know it sounds like magic (it’s science!) but for every drop in temperature degree below the ideal for cigars 70 degree temperature, you need to increase the humidity to keep cigars properly humidified. If the air is too cold, it won’t be able to hold enough moisture in suspension. So at 55 degrees, you’d need about 80 percent humidity. Over the long term, your cigars are likely to dry out in your wine cellar.

The good news is that cellars aren’t awful for short-term cigar storage, and that cool temperature will prevent the hatching of any dreaded tobacco beetles (ew!).

—Dr. Vinny

I think Dr. Vinny should smoke some cigars sometime! I keep my cigars in my cellar in Italy and they are stored perfectly… It’s usually about 62 degrees and 65 percent humidity, as I said before. It can get colder in the winter but then I just bring the cigars upstairs and let them warm up a bit before smoking. So, yes, you can cellar your cigars with your wine. That’s what I do!


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## bpegler (Mar 30, 2006)

Dr. Vinny is a quack.

I think you're fine David. I worry far more about cigars getting too warm, that is a recipe for disaster.


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## CeeGar (Feb 19, 2007)

bpegler said:


> Dr. Vinny is a quack.
> 
> I think you're fine David. I worry far more about cigars getting too warm, that is a recipe for disaster.


Lol. Who is Dr. Vinny anyway??


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## tiger187126 (Jul 17, 2010)

i think the jist of the article is it's harder to hold humidity at colder temps, but if you're sitting at 60% then i don't think it's a problem. now i don't know how far below 50F i would go to try this theory out, but mine are usually kept around 60/60


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## CeeGar (Feb 19, 2007)

tiger187126 said:


> i think the jist of the article is it's harder to hold humidity at colder temps, but if you're sitting at 60% then i don't think it's a problem. now i don't know how far below 50F i would go to try this theory out, but mine are usually kept around 60/60


This is close to mine. My humis stay around 62-4 temp/60-2 rh.


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## TonyBrooklyn (Jan 28, 2010)

An old timer once said to me don't worry till the temp goes under 50 as that will severely impede the aging process!


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## jdfutureman (Sep 20, 2010)

CeeGar said:


> Lol. Who is Dr. Vinny anyway??


All I know is when I google him here's what comes up











bpegler said:


> Dr. Vinny is a quack.


Bob, just a wild guess but you may be correct :biggrin:


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## karmaz00 (Dec 5, 2007)

might be on the tad coldside...but for me im at 64-65 F, and 65%......60% IMO is a little low


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## Habano (Jul 5, 2010)

Thanks all for the information and responses. I checked this evening and it was up to 57 degrees since we've had a couple of warmer days. Temps the next few days will be in the high 50's, so without a doubt the cooler will be back in the low 60 range in no time. It's when we get those nights in the teens and single digits and where I will need to keep an eye on it.

I tried to rep a couple of you guys, but the system said I needed to spread some love. Well ain't that a bi!ch...lol.


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## asmartbull (Aug 16, 2009)

David
I had similar concerns. I too keep my cigars in my basement since I still have a few desktops.
I started to use a humidifier that uses hot water-vapor .
It keeps the room at 60/60


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